Physical Appearance:
Lysistra is of average height, and has a lithe, slender frame. Her eyes are a dark and deep green, and show a lot of emotion. She has short, thick, fur, which is red/brown with a creamy throat patch. Her long tail has a lighter tip as well. Lysistra has a pretty face, a graceful figure, and is overall very beautiful. She does not appear very muscular, but she is not quite as weak as most would think. And, while not particularly strong, she more than makes up for it in flexibility. Lysistra changes her clothing fairly frequently, despite being a thief, she still has some level of class. For the most part, her clothing is rather practical breeches and tunics, though the tunics are often tighter-fitting and more decorative than the common vermin's.

Possessions
Lysistra's only weapon is her trusty sword, which has saved her on many occasions. It is a sturdy, well built long-sword, with a decorative brass hilt. She wears it in a black scabbard at her waist. Though she will wear different jewelry when she can get it, she has kept one silver ring in particular. It is a simple band, without marking or stone. She took it from the farm on the fateful day when her life changed, and something compels her to keep it, despite the memories. Maybe as a warning of what consequences your actions can have.

Personality:
Much of Lysistra’s personality was shaped by the events that occurred after leaving her parents. Before that time, she was a refined and obedient girl, who interacted with very few aside from her mother and father. But, her heart longed for adventure, having read many tales about brave beasts and warriors. The way in which she got her wish was far different than she had dreamed, and far more painful.

Since losing her parents and friends, Lysistra has become much more self-focused. She sees the world as a hard, cruel place where one survives, not thrives. She does what she can to make a living, turning to crime and less than respectable means of attaining money. It does not occur to her that there are creatures in the world that would treat her well out of the kindness of their hearts. To Lysistra, everyone has an agenda. If they offer you something, they want something in return. Peace is now a distant memory, a faded dream. She longs for it, but is convinced she can never have it. In her own mind, Lysistra is useless vermin scum, far beyond salvation. She sees no good in herself, and denies that anyone else could. It her own mental blocks that keep her from the happiness she desires.
Though Lysistra’s motives have changed with time, she still enjoys adventure, the trill of combat. Not to the extent she did before she met Alastor, but there is still fire in her blood. Lysistra is not a cruel beast, but a practical one. While she enjoys crossing blades with another skilled beast, she does not kill for fun. When she kills it is justified in her mind, it always has a purpose. Lysistra has crossed the barrier where death and killing do not bother her, though she still feels the parting of a friend.

Lysistra is a very intelligent beast, especially for a “vermin.” She is a bright, quick thinker. This makes her a natural leader of those less knowledgeable. Her superiority tends to come out around her fellow vermin, but they tolerate it as long as she leads them well. Lysistra can keep calm and levelheaded in a variety of situations, and is not new to getting out of peril. She is a fair strategist, and also possesses a lot of “book smarts” that may or may-not be useful.
Lysistra has little to no respect for honor and chivalry. The only time these principles concern her is when she thinks calling upon them may benefit her somehow. She uses trickery and cheating when she sees fit. She is not above using her attractiveness against those of the opposite gender, either. This helps her keep control of male vermin as well, whom she will tease and mess with a little to get them emotionally attached to her.

Lysistra is a very charismatic, charming girl. She is bright, talkative, and relatively easy to get along with. Despite being a “vermin” and a thief, she has not fallen to their level of rudeness and meanness. She is a genuinely nice girl, forced into her lifestyle by her own choices and views of the world. Lysistra enjoys interesting beasts and conversations, and makes “friends” well. But, a part of her stops her from getting too emotionally connected to them. She is worried, both that they have an agenda and would betray her and that something may happen to them, either which would hurt her. Being female, Lysistra has her mood swings. She is often cheerful, choosing to smile at life, bleak as it is. But there are many moments where she feels lonely and troubled.

At heart, Lysistra is a bit of a coward. When it seems her life is in danger, she will do and try anything to preserve it. Her own life still means a lot to her, though reasons for living seem few at times, and she will protect it fiercely. She is deathly afraid of those who hate her, and seek to harm her personality. The beast she is most afraid of is the one who slaughtered her friends, Alastor Eriel. The stoat haunts her nightmares, his paws bloody and his terrible smile heralding her coming demise. Lysistra has not seen him since that night when her new life begun, nor does she want to. She is quite certain that Alastor will be the one to kill her, so much that much she sees as an inevitable end. Thus, she wants to prolong their meeting as long as she can.

As far as love goes, Lysistra is very closed. A lot of this is for the same reasons that she keeps emotionally detached from “friends.” She is afraid they may betray her, and crush her fragile heart. Practically the only ones she ever loved, her parents, left her. They stopped loving her, no one ever loved her. How could anyone love her? What if someone did? Then if they died, if the stoat killed them, it would tear her apart. So, though she does find herself romantically interested in guys from time to time, she avoids getting in any relationships. But, she does enjoy teasing males she likes, and flirting, particularly if she knows it embarrasses them. Still, Lysistra longs to actually be in love, rather than these little crushes and attractions.

Strengths:
Lysistra is a good sword fighter, having been taught dueling by her father and having years of practical practice. She is smart, and can think her way out of tough situations. Lysistra is agile, able to jump and climb well. She is well read, a rare skill among illiterate vermin.

Weaknesses:
Lysistra is afraid of one thing more than anything else in this world, Alastor Eriel. She is not particularly physically powerful, though her fighting style does not revolve around this. Lysistra is not great with heavy weaponry or pole weapons, being really only trained in the sword.

History:
Lysistra grew up in Mossflower, living with her mother and father. As she was their only child, and her parents were very protective. Her father believed their family to be descended from royalty, though they hardly had wealth to show it. They did however, have some rather expensive family heirlooms, and her father had a great deal of knowledge and books. He taught Lysistra many things, including sword-play and tactical thinking. Unlike most "vermin," their family was neutral and lived a rather secluded life. They didn't bother woodlanders or vermin, and neither bothered them.

Lysistra was a edgy as an adolescent and grew to resent her coddling parents and pet names they gave her, like "Princess." Taking advantage of distraction one day, Lysistra ran away from her little home. She wandered Mossflower alone for a little while, but eventually fell in with a group of young vermin. They, like most of their kind, fell into instinctive behavior of horde life, led by a young dogfox. At first, they just robbed a little and caused some minor trouble, but they soon grew bloodthirsty and ambitious. Lysistra, unlike them, did not want to kill for killing's sake, and her parents lessons still had an effect on her. She hung back a little inside, while the others dragged her on through peer pressure.

The fox "horde" leader decided that their first target would be a small farm they found in the woods. It was relatively isolated, and they only saw two or three beasts around it. Little did those vermin know that it would be a choice only one of them would live to regret.

The vermin rushed the farm, belonging to Alastor's parents, and captured the two older stoats. Alastor himself was told to run by his parents and escaped during their last stand. He stayed nearby though, hidden in the edge of the woods. Lysistra participated in the looting, grabbing some stuff, including a simple silver ring which she took to be nothing but a bauble. But, when the other vermin started to burn the farm and kill the stoats, she felt something was terribly wrong about this. She still had enough morals to see the evil and senselessness of these murders. She slunk off to the edge of the farm, hoping that none of her companions would see her and laugh at her for her "weakness." This choice would be one that saved her life.

It was about this time that Alastor reentered the scene, a changed beast. Letting out a blood-curdling roar he charged the densely crowded vermin and killed their leader with his bare-paws. Taking up the blade he began to hack the crowd of startled beasts to bloody pieces. Some tried to fight back, and indeed they managed to injure Alastor badly, but they fell one by one in rapid succession. Lysistra, had retreated a bit into the woods before this, unable to watch the torture of the farmers. She heard the clash of weapons and returned, stopping when she saw Alastor, covered with blood and surrounded by the bodies of her friends. He gave her a single glance that took any remaining courage out of her heart.

Lysistra saw what a position she was in. Alastor was only about twenty feet from her, and he had a good chance of outrunning her. She had no chance of fighting him, so she had no hope but to plead for her life, and plead she did. She said anything and everything she could think of to convince him not to hurt her, even offering herself to him. She slowly backed up, but even as she did, he slowly advanced, a cold glare on his face. Seeing that she could do nothing to change his resolution to take her life, Lysistra turned and ran. Alastor went after her, and might have overtaken her, if it hadn't been for his wounds. He collapsed from loss of blood just before he took a swing. Lysistra looked back a second, fascinated by the crazed beast, but she saw him start to move again and took off as fast as she could.

Alone, terrified, and lost, Lysistra wandered the woods all night. She finally found her way home in the morning, remorseful and wanting nothing more than to have her parents and her peaceful life back. But, it was too late. Her parents had left the house for reasons unknown. Perhaps they had gone to search for their daughter, or in despair of loss, had left to clear the memories from their minds. One thing was clear, Lysistra had lost her old life forever. What had happened at that farm was irreversible.

Forced to care for herself, Lysistra tried many things. She wandered for a while, tried to take up crafts, served as minor horde beast, and even was a barmaid for a while. However, none of these seemed to fit. She was an intelligent girl, and better suited for leadership being a worker. Soon, she had gathered a small group of vermin to herself and they began thieving. Lysistra's morals were already very suppressed at this point, but she never became a cold hearted murderer. She only kills when in a fight, or when it seems to be the only choice. Some of her gang members are not so reserved, and she doesn't stop them. She preforms highway robberies, steals from small houses and villages, and other such deeds. Things that can't be used are sold to fences. Though profits flux greatly, it isn't a bad deal overall, though far less than honorable.